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SPIDER-MAN: BLUE #1
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint
"Book One: My Funny Valentine"
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
Colors: Steve Buccellato
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Bronwyn Taggart
"Jay Leno & Spider-Man: One Night Only! (Don't Forget to Tip Your Waitress), Part Two"
Writer: Ron Zimmerman
Pencils: Greg Capullo
Inks: Danny Miki
Colors: Avalon Studios
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $3.50 US/$5.75 CAN |
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale are one of the most solid creative team in comics today. Their Batman work -- The Long Halloween and Dark Victory -- captured the essence of the character wonderfully, and they done the same with other characters as well. Here, they set their sights on Spider-Man. Now, this is just the first issue, sure, but so far, I'm not finding the same inventive storytelling I've come to expect from these creators. They seem to be mining an area that's already been picked clean, though that could change with future issues.
Spider-Man thinks back to the time he first met Gwen Stacy and how it fell into one of the most tumultuous times in his life. Not only was he falling for another man's girlfriend, but the Green Goblin -- who turned out to be his friend's father -- had discovered his secret identity.
Sale's art is easily the star of this particular six-issue "show." He's channeling Steve Ditko here, but no so much that his own style is submerged. His interpretation of the Green Goblin is undeniably his own, and he captures the insane and monstrous nature of the character quite well. One of Sale's greatest strength has always been cover design, and that holds true here as well. Back in the interiors, though, Gwen seemed to have an odd, seductive Veronica Lake look going on that doesn't really jibe with the pure-love the title character is talking about in the narrative captions.
There were small scenes that helped to transform Peter Parker into a real person. I know what it's like to be told that you have to wait to be paid at a time when you need the money now. I know what it's like to have that awkward conversation with a parent about your need for wheels, not knowing how s/he will react. But while these humanizing elements are well done, it's nothing we haven't seen in thousands of Spider-Man comics to come before this one.
The same hold true throughout the book. Spidey's confrontation with the Goblin, his relfection on losing Gwen, JJJ's anti-Webhead rants... we've seen all of this before. In past efforts, Loeb has incorporated familiar super-hero elements in his stories, but they always came off as fresh, filtered through a new perspective. The same can't be said for his take on Spider-Man... at least not yet. I've come to expect mature super-hero storytelling from this writer, and fortunately, he's got another five issues to come through.
Leno: We're only two short chapters into this backup story, and it's already grating on my nerves. A clunky, overly verbose script, silly story concept and confusing, exaggerated artwork all add up to make this Spider-Man/Jay Leno team-up one of the most irksome and weak products Marvel has delivered in years.
Note: Since the backup story appears in several of this week's Marvel Comics releases, it does not factor into the rating for this review.
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